Gift cards

[Minnie368]

can you pay your balance at the end of the cruise with Disney gift cards?

 

[Mushu's Twin]

Yes, if you take the gift cards to guest services at any time during your cruise they will apply them towards your shipboard account.

 

[Dug720]

Be aware that they do set a "credit limit" so if you have a cash account (which is fine - it's what I do when using gift cards) they may cut off your charging privileges until you go down and pay off some of your account.

 

[clten]

There is the same "credit limit" with credit cards. They will hold charges until they get to a certain level (depends on the length of the cruise) and then they will process a charge through to your credit card. So if you wait until the end, there may be charges that have already gone through. So you may want to apply some gift cards early in the cruise if you know you are going to have certain charges on your account -- excursions, gratuities, photo package, etc. And then go down to guest services occasionally and apply more gift cards (if you apply them all up front, that would be fine as well, they would refund any overage back to the cards).

 

[Dug720]

There is the same "credit limit" with credit cards. They will hold charges until they get to a certain level (depends on the length of the cruise) and then they will process a charge through to your credit card. So if you wait until the end, there may be charges that have already gone through. So you may want to apply some gift cards early in the cruise if you know you are going to have certain charges on your account -- excursions, gratuities, photo package, etc. And then go down to guest services occasionally and apply more gift cards (if you apply them all up front, that would be fine as well, they would refund any overage back to the cards).

Thanks. I've never put a card down - just done cash and then put gift cards on - so I didn't know if it worked the same or they auto charged everything.

I do think they still charge all excursions night one, so it might be a good idea to just put the gift card on that evening. I usually go as soon as I board and have never had a long wait.

 

[M<3'sMickey]

I found out that the Vanilla Visa gift cards as well as the Amex ones can be used to pay the balance down for the actual price of the cruise. So if you have any of those, maybe they'll work on your account onboard as well.

 

[havaneselover]

I paid in advance using my DVA (deposited gift cards in it then called DCL to apply funds to my onboard account). Had a few hundred dollars left over and couldn't get a straight answer on how the refund would be issued so I just used my onboard account to buy gift cards in the gift shop to drain the balance.

 

[landheim]

Can I apply my gift cards prior to my cruise? I want to use them to pay for my excursions and want to be sure it is done in plenty of time. Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can I apply my gift cards prior to my cruise? I want to use them to pay for my excursions and want to be sure it is done in plenty of time. Thanks!

Certainly. Just call DCL and tell then you want to add them to your onboard account (purchase onboard credits).

 

[Dug720]

Can I apply my gift cards prior to my cruise? I want to use them to pay for my excursions and want to be sure it is done in plenty of time. Thanks!

Yep! I called this morning and put $600 onto my account. She was QUITE happy I only had one card. So I'd recommend going to the Disney Gift Card site and combining them onto one. (That also helps in case there is money left over because it goes back onto the gift card, and if you only have ONE you're keeping up with, it's tons easier.)

 

[TXspartan]

I paid in advance using my DVA (deposited gift cards in it then called DCL to apply funds to my onboard account). Had a few hundred dollars left over and couldn't get a straight answer on how the refund would be issued so I just used my onboard account to buy gift cards in the gift shop to drain the balance.

When using a DVA you can request a gift card to be "cashed out" of what ever is left in the account, there is a limit of how many times you can do this a year. The gift card will take a few weeks to arrive so if you're planning on having the gift card for the cruise.

 

[havaneselover]

When using a DVA you can request a gift card to be "cashed out" of what ever is left in the account, there is a limit of how many times you can do this a year. The gift card will take a few weeks to arrive so if you're planning on having the gift card for the cruise.

Yep. But if you put it in your onboard account it goes toward the bonus while it doesn't if you request a gift card.

ETA: sorry the left over money was in my onboard account, not my DVA.

 

[rescuetink]

I purchased gift cards at Sam's Club, I think it was @ $142.00 for $150.00 in gift cards. I spent awhile on the phone with Disney giving them all the card numbers, but it was a BIG savings in the end!!

 

[TXspartan]

Yep. But if you put it in your onboard account it goes toward the bonus while it doesn't if you request a gift card.

ETA: sorry the left over money was in my onboard account, not my DVA.

That is a great point, i usually just load it just to the right number and basically zero the balance out when PIF with DCL, and then carry GC's as I need them but that makes sense to try and maximize the bonus. Any idea how to track the bonus? I know i've collected the bonus GC before but not sure how much is "left over" for the next $1k....

 

[Dug720]

I purchased gift cards at Sam's Club, I think it was @ $142.00 for $150.00 in gift cards. I spent awhile on the phone with Disney giving them all the card numbers, but it was a BIG savings in the end!!

In the future, you can go to https://www.disneygiftcard.com and combine them onto one up to i believe it's $1000. Makes the phone call MUCH easier for you and the agent to have fewer gift cards. I could pretty much hear the sign of relief when I called to put $600 credit onto my account and replied "just one" to the agent's question of how many gift cards.

It also makes it MUCH easier in case of refunds as you have one (or only a few) cards the refund could go to instead of a pile.

 

[TXspartan]

In the future, you can go to https://www.disneygiftcard.com and combine them onto one up to i believe it's $1000. Makes the phone call MUCH easier for you and the agent to have fewer gift cards. I could pretty much hear the sign of relief when I called to put $600 credit onto my account and replied "just one" to the agent's question of how many gift cards.

It also makes it MUCH easier in case of refunds as you have one (or only a few) cards the refund could go to instead of a pile.

yes agree 100% so glad disney gift card has the site now to stop reading off hundreds of gift card numbers. Any recommendations on best places to get the gift cards? Previously would do the Raise --> Target Red Card combo, but now that all of the rules have changed that's back down to a 5% savings, any other places beat this?

 

[Dug720]

yes agree 100% so glad disney gift card has the site now to stop reading off hundreds of gift card numbers. Any recommendations on best places to get the gift cards? Previously would do the Raise --> Target Red Card combo, but now that all of the rules have changed that's back down to a 5% savings, any other places beat this?

No. I don't obsess about getting more for less, so I either order the gift card from the Disney Store or get one in store and then just reload it/add on.

eta: No, I don't have tons of extra money. But IMHO my time is more valuable than the few dollars I could save by skirting the system.

 

[KalamityJane]

yes agree 100% so glad disney gift card has the site now to stop reading off hundreds of gift card numbers. Any recommendations on best places to get the gift cards? Previously would do the Raise --> Target Red Card combo, but now that all of the rules have changed that's back down to a 5% savings, any other places beat this?

Kroger/Fred Meyer or Giant will do gas rewards which can be worth about 15% off if you utilize the entire 35 gallons (I usually filled up the SUV and then 2 5 gallon gas cans). Obviously that is better if you can start way before your trip unless you drive a lot.

Raise/Target/DVA would be decent too, I've seen Target cards on Raise lately for 7-8% off. With the DVA 2% (if you spend 1k) that works out well.

On saving money, 5-10% off our cruise of almost 9k is not a small amount That's 450+ bucks! I'll do a little legwork for that

 

[rescuetink]

In the future, you can go to https://www.disneygiftcard.com and combine them onto one up to i believe it's $1000. Makes the phone call MUCH easier for you and the agent to have fewer gift cards. I could pretty much hear the sign of relief when I called to put $600 credit onto my account and replied "just one" to the agent's question of how many gift cards.

It also makes it MUCH easier in case of refunds as you have one (or only a few) cards the refund could go to instead of a pile.

WOW!! I didn't know that!! GREAT INFORMATION!!

Another reason I love the DIS so much!!

 

[MTFnl]

Does anybody know if the Disney Visa rewards card works the same way? Should I call DCL ahead of time and give them the info from the rewards card to make sure it is used for any charges?